Modern inventory systems, such as those in mail order warehouses, supply chain distribution centers, airport luggage systems, and custom-order manufacturing facilities, face significant challenges in responding to requests for inventory items. As inventory systems grow, the challenges of simultaneously completing a large number of packing, storing, and other inventory-related tasks become non-trivial. In inventory systems tasked with responding to large numbers of diverse inventory requests, inefficient utilization of system resources, including space, equipment, and manpower, can result in lower throughput, unacceptably long response times, an ever-increasing backlog of unfinished tasks, and, in general, poor system performance. For example, unstable loading when moving inventory items to meet demand may cause inventory items to be dropped, resulting in damage to items, unsafe obstructions to human or robot operators, and/or delays in processes for the dropped items to be cleared. Resulting costs of such dropped items may be prohibitively expensive, limiting the ability of the inventory system to operate efficiently.